MS MS - Leigh Occhi, 13, Tupelo, 27 Aug 1992

I thought the message on the forum to be kooky as well, but you can never count anything out.
I have a question for those of you who have been sleuthing for a while, as I am still pretty new to it. Have been interested in crimes for years but just more or less watched them on TV and read about them. Anyway, to get past articles from newspapers, can one still visit the local library and use micro fish? Or have those been done away with the internet revolution? The reason I ask is this, I am about an hour drive from Tupelo and go there about once a month to shop. If you can still use micro fish machines I would be willing to take the time to go to the library there and look the articles up and have them printed so that we would have them. I could scan them in and save them to a file on my server for those who are watching this case. Let me know from those of you who have been at this for a while if this is something that can still be done and I will take a day off work next week ( it’s a slow week ) and do this.
 
I think most if not all libraries still have microfilms. I used to go the library at my college and look at microfilm material, and I know the Fort Wayne Public Library which I go to now has microfilm machines.

(I don't think print media will ever die. In fact, with all the technology now it's more essential than ever. Various forms of electronic media like records, tapes, etc will become obsolete, and they will stop making machines to play/view them, and then such media will become inaccessible. But a piece of paper is never obsolete and doesn't require any equipment to access. This became really obvious to me when I was doing some research last summer. The man I was researching, a famous author, had hundreds of thousands of pages of drafts and things in manuscript boxes to be read. He also had a few very early poems he'd recited and recorded on vinyl records back in the forties. Problem: it's been sixty years, the records are warped, and you can no longer make out most of his words. Because he didn't write them down, those poems are probably lost forever. It's so sad.)
 
I thought the message on the forum to be kooky as well, but you can never count anything out.
I have a question for those of you who have been sleuthing for a while, as I am still pretty new to it. Have been interested in crimes for years but just more or less watched them on TV and read about them. Anyway, to get past articles from newspapers, can one still visit the local library and use micro fish? Or have those been done away with the internet revolution? The reason I ask is this, I am about an hour drive from Tupelo and go there about once a month to shop. If you can still use micro fish machines I would be willing to take the time to go to the library there and look the articles up and have them printed so that we would have them. I could scan them in and save them to a file on my server for those who are watching this case. Let me know from those of you who have been at this for a while if this is something that can still be done and I will take a day off work next week ( it’s a slow week ) and do this.

I think Meggilyweggily is right. Most libraries should still have the old fashioned microfilm and such. If you do get to go, God bless you! I'd love to hear of any info you can find.
 
I am planning on taking off work on Thursday of this week and make the trip to Tupelo and visit the libr. I will see what I can find. What would be the easiest way to share this with anyone interested in the case? Should I like scan them into my computer and make a document or would it be easier for everyone if I were to upload the scanned files to my own server and give a link?
By the way, I have a ton of space on my server if anyone needs some bandwith space or storage. I could never use the amount of space that I have.
 
There may be a way that you can scan articles to jump drive or something and then copy and paste. However, it's been eons since I visited a library and not at all since computers have been so widely used. They may have all sorts of fancy new gadgets there. LOL.
 
Ok I might have not been as clear as I could have been. I know that from the fish that I will have the lib print the articles, I will have paper from the lib and I can bring it home and scan it into my computer, I guess what I should have said was that once I had these printed materials what would be the best way to make these available to those who wish to pursue this case? I have a website for my company that I can make a page within and even password protect if I need to, but I can format the scanned images from the print that I get at the lib, and upload them in any format and as stated even protect the docs. I was jus ttrying to avoid emailing the same thing several times if there were several people who wanted to pursue this case.
 
Hey there! I will be taking tomarrow off to go to the library. I also have a friend who works at the local paper here, the paper is owned by the same company that owns the paper in Tupelo. I called her last night and asked her if there was any way that she had access to old artices and if she could search them out easily and maybe get me copies. She is checking on that today. Being the media company she works for is the only one for the area I may not have to go to the lib and dig around. Lets keep our fingers crossed that she can get me the information. Either way I have to get it though is fine. I am taking the day off tomarrow anyway. Also I reposted a link to an old article on Topix in the Tupelo, MS section to see if it would start any conversation. Lets keep our fingers crossed that maybe we can get some clues.
 
I have a couple of questions about the newslibrary.com ok I see where you can pay per article, and where you can get 50 articles a month for $19.95 does anyone know why they limit to 50? Also, and I address this to someone in an accounting field, say I suscribed to this service, and I paid with a company credit or debit card, could I justify to the tax man that is a service that I pay for to do discovery work when doing background checks? The reason I ask is that when I was messing around in the site the strangest thing happened to me. I had typed in Leighs name and a name come up of someone that had made application with my company at one time to lease on with me and even though I did not purchase the article, the words that it does let you see, they were not good at all. So could I use it as a tax deduction?
 
I have a couple of questions about the newslibrary.com ok I see where you can pay per article, and where you can get 50 articles a month for $19.95 does anyone know why they limit to 50?

Because they need to make money, and charging $20 for unlimited articles would probably not be good business sense. I think they used to charge $20 for 100 articles, but then the prices went up. But it used to be a lot worse, like $20 for five articles or something. I've given Newslibrary hundreds of dollars of my money for my Charley research.

Incidentally: if you buy a 50-article subscription, and you use it all up -- that is, buy 50 articles -- your subscription won't be renewed next month and you'll have to buy another. If you only buy 49 articles or whatever in a month, though, they'll charge you for another 50 articles next month.
 
Ok I am back from the lib. What I found was only what we found online at the news bank. The lib wanted just as much per artivle to print them so here is what I am thinking. I coul dsuscribe to the service and then I would have it so that we can print out on stories we are working on. $19.95 a month is not that much and I can justify it. I heard back from my friend and was told there really was never any news released on the case. Only the basics, and most of the artivles more or less just said the same thing over and over, that she went missing and that they were looking for her.

I did find out though, this is one of several cases in the county that have never been solved period. I do not know if maybe the area does not have the man power or if it is the training. But, from what I understand there are many unsolved cases period in the area. Some where vics have been found, but never a conviction, and some where vics have never been found. But more cases of vics being found and never a conviction or arrest of any kind.

I understand that in the 90's we did not have the resources and science that we have now, however this seems to be a continuing problem for the area. Even in todays time with DNA etc the law seems to not find many clues which leads to having killers roam free.

I will suscribe to the service and get those artivles uploaded to my server and provide a link, however, I really feel like this is one very cold case, almost frozen.

Any suggestions on how maybe some awareness can get raised and see if anyone comes forward? I am open to hear anything that could help and willing to help.
 
Did she say what the other unsolved cases involved by chance?
Yes she mentioned a few to me and will be getting me some more information on those cases and I will be able to see if we have those cases, if we do not I will open a thread for those, of we do have those if I have an article that is not available here I will post the articles that she has that we do not. Apparently there is a case of a girl around the same age in Granda, MS which is really not that far from Tupelo, MS I would say about an hour and a half drive between the two and there are several unsolved that deal with adults. She said all but one was female, and all in thei rlate 20's to early 30's. She is gathering some information for me and will be comming over to visit with me and let me download it from a thumb drive. She is being very supportive of this and I am greatfull for her efforts. I will be sure and reward her somehow for all her help and concern. I also still plan on suscribing to the news site and being able to gte articles from there that were written by other sources than her paper. I just have to wait until next week to join. This fuel increase is killing me. My trucks are using more a day in fuel and it is getting harder to float their purchases. I just do not want to put myself in a postition. I should have her information this weekend and will be able to draw more from other sources next week.
 
I have a friend that used to live in Tupelo that told me that she caught a peeping tom peering into her daughter's room once. This has been quite a few years ago. It must have been around 1997 or 1998. I don't recall if she contacted the police, but when she saw the perp, he saw her and took off. Makes me wonder if a peeping tom just happened on Leigh that day and took advantage of the situation. Of course the storms were rolling thorugh. It would be interesting to see what time of day they started. I really think the police department just didn't have experience with this sort of case, or else they would have been closer to solving it at the time. So sad.
 
The date that Leigh went missing was on August 27, 1992 I checked the day at this site: http://www.flicklives.com/Timeline/1992_cal.html The day of the week was a Thursday. Here in the South even in 1992 we always start school in the first or second week of August. So this would have been a school day. I am starting to think this is al ittle strange. I wished there were some way that I could confirm that school was in fact in session that day. If it was, why was she at home?
 
Maybe this had something to do with the new husband as well?
 
Lt. Aguirre told me personally, years ago, that Leigh's mother was and is the main suspect.

Thank you for letting us know Shopper. I had wondered earlier if that might be the case as little had come of the investigation. A school day would have lended itself to a very peculiar turn of events indeed. I wondered if there were a way to make certain school was in session that day and not out for a teacher workshop day. I do realize that teacher workshop usually fall on Mondays.

1. Child stays home and a stranger happens upon her (peeping tom, stalker or something similar)?...or
2. Child stays at home to intentionally meet up with someone who has befriended her?...or
3. Mother and/or step father are involved. They up story and call home early in the morning, from work, shortly after leaving to establish the alibi?

Which is more likely.....?

That is also why I mentioned the peeping tom incident. I've heard that peeping toms seem "harmless," but often peeping tom crimes lead to other things. I'm certain my friends incident would have been late 90's.

I assume that if Leigh rode the bus to school, she would have already boarded it before the time the mother left for work? No where in any piece of info I've seen is the step father ever brought up and whether or not he was a work, away, or what.
 
I also wonder just how much blood was found in the house. Sometimes blood is mentioned even though only specs are found. I wonder where Leigh's mother and step father live now.
 
There is not a lot of mention of her mother in any article that I have found. It talks for the most part of her father coming to Tupelo with his new wife and two little ones to search. Apparently he exhausted his means and was forced to pull out of the active search. That is totally understandable being he was or is a millitary man. They are often not paid a lot.

Her aunt from St. Louis is mentioned her name is Elizabeth Leach. I wonder if that is her mother or her fathers sister? Anyone know?

The step fathers name is Barney. Here is a little information on his that might tell us where the family may be now:

Address History for the Yarborough's includes the following citie(s):

West Memphis, AR
Gardena, CA
Pickens, MS
Tupelo, MS
Mexia, TX
LORTON, VA
ALEXANDRIA, VA</B>
SPRING, TX


What is strange is most of the addresses match each other, I searched each name seperate. The last three on the list are hers alone, his do not show those cities. Are they now seperated?
 

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